Balto: Blood Ties
by Whatupwidat
Summary: What begins as a routine mail run for Kodi and the postalteam, soon turns into a situation in which Balto once again finds himself thrust into a role he didn't particularly want.
1. Chapter 1: The Woodcutters

The snow just kept falling and falling outside, like a never-ending spray of white in the cold wind. Winter had hit Nenana again. Inside the woodcutter's warehouse, most of the town dogs sat around chatting and joking with another. Now, if truth were told, dogs didn't have bars. But if they did then the warehouse known locally as "The Woodcutters", in Nenana would have been the closest thing.

Dogs from all over Alaska gathered there, as it was one of the key locations in middle Alaska. It was where the trains ended, and was a mid point between Anchorage, Fairbanks and, of course, little Nome. Most of the dogs in The Woodcutters were huskies and malamutes, but some of the other dogs in the town came down too to meet everyone and exchange stories with the visitors.

Over in the corner, by the fire, with a bone in his mouth and two local floozies all over him sat Steele. Almost two years had passed since he had got the relief sled for the Nome epidemic lost in the blizzard and broke down from the pressure, but he was still Steele, arrogant and brash.

'Then what happened?' asked one of the floozies, a brown and white spaniel, as she nuzzled the black and white husky.

'Well,' Steel replied in his low voice, 'I grabbed the mutt by the scruff and took him down. He was big, too, but I beat him all the same.'

'You sure are brave Steele,' the other floozy said.

'Well, he shouldn't have talked to a lady in that way.'

The two girls giggled and began to praise him for being so brave.

On the other side of the warehouse, two other dogs sat and watched.

'Same old Steele,' Nikki said.

'How's he get away with it? That's what I'd like to know. I mean, he nearly killed my dad and he put the entire town in danger because of his ego. Still the girls drape themselves over him.'

Nikki chuckled. 'Kodi, you gotta realise that some dogs are just plain dumb. Especially when it comes to a pretty face.'

Three other dogs walked up to where Kodi and Nikki were sitting. The smallest one was ranting about something. One of the others turned to the small husky.

'You have to be the most annoying, the most stupid, the most dumb dog in the entire world! For the love of god, be quiet!' Kaltag shouted at one of his companions.

'I was just saying!' begged Star.

'Yeah, well don't!'

Kodi and Nikki chuckled.

'Hey guys,' said Kodi, 'How's the weather out there?'

'Cold,' replied the larger dog, Ralph. 'I think I'm getting the flu or something.'

Kaltag cut in. 'You know what this stupid mutt thinks?' he asked the others, pointing at Star, who just looked blankly at the others. Ralph rolled his eyes; he'd heard the two of them arguing the entire way from the station to the Warehouse and refused to get involved. He sat down next to Kodi and prepared himself to hear the argument for the third time in however many minutes.

Kaltag continued. 'He thinks that we were being followed on the way from Nome.'

On the other side of the warehouse, three other dogs were discussing how wolves were different from dogs, and were getting quite confrontational about it.

'All I'm saying is that the difference between us and them, is that we're not savages,' said one, a large Labrador. The other two, a young boxer and a female husky sat and listened, drinking occasionally from their water bowls.

'How can you say that?' asked the husky. 'Sure, they live in the wild, but we came from them. Maybe you could argue that in our domestication we've lost something of who we are.'

'You could,' replied the boxer, 'but you could also say that what we lost wasn't worth keeping, case in point, howling? I mean, prim-a-tive…'

'It doesn't matter,' said the Labrador. 'All I know is that the humans shot seven of them last week, and I'm glad I was one of those that helped track them.'

'Raise a toast!' said the boxer. The Labrador smiled.

'You know, I think I might.'

Dusty walked away from the two dogs in disgust and sat down next to the others, just as the Labrador climbed up onto a woodcutting table.

'Attention please!' he shouted. The dogs in the warehouse all began to quiet down and when he was happy that everyone was paying attention to him, the Labrador went on.

'It's a happy day for Nenana! Seven more of those mangy primitives were shot last week for getting too close to the town. Let that be a lesson to all wolves, you come near us, and we'll kill you. A toast!'

Kodi couldn't believe what he was hearing, or seeing. None of the Nome dogs could. Most of the entire congregation began cheering at the Labrador.

'That is the most disgusting, the most degrading, the most nastiest thing I ever heard!' said Kaltag.

'What an butt-fink,' added Nikki.

'Yeah, that's bad!' said Star. Kaltag looked at the small grey husky before smacking him over the head.

Kodi was fuming. No one put down his heritage like that. Maybe his dad would have let it wash over him, but Kodi wasn't Balto. The rust coloured husky got up and began walking towards the Labrador and the Boxer. They were both laughing and doing degrading wolf impressions, which only made Kodi angrier.

'Kodi, don't! They're not worth it,' Dusty said. Kodi ignored her and kept walking


	2. Chapter 2: When to fight

Kodi walked towards the two dogs, their words filling him with anger. He could hear his friends behind him, trying to get him to come back. He ignored all of them. Kodi had never really gotten defensive about his ancestry before, usually resorting to joking along with whomever it was that was saying it.

But these dogs were different. The dogs in Nome may have made fun of his family's wolven heritage, but it was always clear that they were just messing around. These dogs actually meant it, and what's more they revelled in the deaths of their own ancestors. It was this that made Kodi march over to the Labrador and his friends.

When Kodi got near to the two dogs they stopped talking and looked around at him.

'I noticed that you and your friends didn't toast,' said the Labrador.

Kodi growled. 'We don't toast murder where I'm from.'

'Oh that's right, you're from Nome, where mongrel half-breeds and wolves run the place. I'm surprised you're not part wolf yourself.'

Kodi growled as the Labrador began to circle him, chuckling as he did so.

'You know, your coat is a little…wolven,' he said. 'What do you think Bruce?'

The boxer nodded. 'Looks that way to me Mezzo. Maybe we should take him outside for a lesson in "dom-est-i-cation."'

A low growl stopped the two dogs in their tracks. 'You'll have to go through me first,' Steele said before smashing "Mezzo" in the side of the head. The dog landed on the ground with a thud that silenced everyone present. He looked up at Steele and slowly began to rise.

'You shouldn't have done that, friend,' the Labrador said as around 10 dogs began circling Steele and Kodi. The Boxer, Bruce, came forward.

'Yeah Steele, since when do you care about wolves?'

'I don't give a damn about wolves! But Kodi is a sled dog, and son of a dog that saved my life. Sled dogs stick together no matter what differences we have. You should know that... oh no wait, you're alljust pets.'

The boxer and the Labrador growled in unison, as did most of the other dogs that began closing in on the two huskies.

'You want to fight them, you've got to fight all of us!' shoutedRalph from behind the pack. Dusty,Kaltag, Nikkistood next toRalph and growled. Star, stood behind Kaltag, just snarled and waved apaw at the Labrador.

The other dogs in the Woodcutterslaughed.

'What are you going to do?' sneered a German shepherd. 'You're a bunch of mangy inbred hick dogs from hick town.'

The Nome dogs all snarled and hurled insults back.

'Who are you calling mangy? You…you stupid!' shouted Star. Next to him, Kaltag rolled his eyes and buried his face in his paw.

Kodi realised they were outnumbered quite quickly as they all circled one another with teeth showing and growling. He knew that if anything started, that they'd lose. He couldn't risk the others like that, especially Dusty. He could never forgive himself if she got hurt.

'Wait a minute!' he shouted. 'We're going to leave. We don't want any trouble.'

The Nome dogs looked at one another puzzled and slowly walked towards the door, the locals sneering and shouting abuse after them.

'I still think we would've kicked their tails!' said Ralph.

'No chance,' said Steele. 'Knowing when to run away is a key skill.'

Nikki looked over. 'Geez Steele, when did yous become so philosophical?'

Steele smiled. 'Knowing when to fight, and when to accept defeat is key to being a good leader. I forgot that once.'

Kodi was blown back. Had he gotten Steele wrong? Had the dog changed from his experience of almost three years ago? Steele looked over at Kodi.

'You made the right choice, kid. You'll make a good leader someday.'

'I'm leader of the mail sled team,' Kodi said.

Steele chuckled. 'That's why I said 'A good leader.'"

Kodi thought as they walked back to their sled to get ready for the early morning mail run. When Steele had been put in the postal-sled team, Kodi had been worried. When Kodi had told Balto, the wolf/dog couldn't believe it, but he knew that there was nothing they could do. The original mail musher of Nome had moved on to Fairbanks. Steele's owner had been put in charge of the postal sled and bought his dog with him. Kodi and Balto had wondered if Steele was to be made lead dog, but he wasn't. Soon after that, Kodi had heard Steele's owner talking to the blacksmith. He'd said that he wouldn't put Steele as a lead dog after what had happened on the diphtheria run, the run that Balto had saved.

Kodi was left as the lead dog, but he'd wondered if Steele would resent that. He hadn't ever seemed to. Sure, Steele made snide comments and remarks about him and the rest of the team, but he'd never criticised Kodi's position as lead-dog.

'Why'd he do that?' Kodi asked Kaltag. Kaltag was one of the few dogs that had actually kept talking to Steele after the diphtheria incident. As much as he'd hated Steele, Kaltag couldn't forget that he and Steele had grown up together and that they'd been on their first sled together. Whatever Steele had become, Kaltag knew he couldn't abandon him like the other dogs had tried to.

Kaltag looked at the back of the large black and white Husky as he walked a few feet ahead.

'When he first got back, after you're father returned the medicine, Steele was so depressed. He couldn't believe that he could be shown up by "a half-breed."'

Kodi stared at Kaltag, who noticed and added, 'his words of course,' then went on.

'But after a while, he stopped being angry. He'd realised that he'd frozen out there, that he'd let the team down and tried then tried to cover it up to save face. That hit Steele hard. He realised that he shouldn't hate Balto, he should thank him.'

Kodi butted in. 'He never did though; my dad wouldn't have been able to shut up about it if he had.'

'True, Steele's ego is still as large as it ever was, hence why most still see him as a womanising idiot. But he respects your father, and through you're father, he respects you.'

'I never knew,' Kodi said, looking at the Husky with new eyes.

'Yeah,' Kaltag laughed. 'He hides it well, doesn't he?'

The two laughed to themselves quietly. Star came bounding up. Thinking he'd missed out on a great joke, he began to laugh to make them think he'd been listening. Kaltag simply raised onepaw and smacked the small dog around the back of the head, making him dive face first into the snow.

'Dumbass,' Ralph said as he walked by the crumpled grey dog.


End file.
